NPD analyst Anita Frazier said the timing of the Easter holiday could be a factor. It was early in April, so Easter-driven game sales may have happened in March.

“We usually find that Easter-related purchases generate an extra 10 percent in revenue in the month they occur, so some of the softness compared to last April could be attributed to the shift in Easter timing,” she said in the release.

Microsoft’s holding its lead in the video game business, even as overall game sales slow.

The Xbox 360 took 47 percent of console sales in April, with 236,000 units sold, according to NPD. It was the 14th consecutive month that the 360 had more than 40 percent of the market, Microsoft noted in a release.

An Xbox exclusive, “Kinect Star Wars,” was also the month’s best-selling, single-platform physical game in the U.S.

Microsoft’s release said total spending on the Xbox platform was $261 million last month — “more than the spend on the other two current-generation consoles combined.”

Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest. Send tips or comments to bdudley@seattletimes.com. His column runs Monday, and his commentary appears here all week.